ABOUT ME
I am easy going, open minded and with typical down to earth good old South African sense of humor. I have learned in life that it is much easier to just tell the simple truth rather than to create lies. I keep to this on my travels and have so far been rewarded by lots of amazing experiences, been hosted by people that became friends even though we might never meet again.
I'm an outdoors person and prefer travels in my truck or on my motorcycle...or abroad with a backpack on my back. I know my local area extremely well and will give information freely.
I have only started to travel abroad later in life, as I spent most of my time on the ocean. However starting late than not experiencing travel at all still is the best option. To date I have not used Couchsurfing to be hosted, as I have been very fortunate during all my travels to find hosts (perfect strangers) whilst travelling and getting invited to stay over by them in person. Saying that, should I find myself in a place and notice there are hosts available with shared interests in travel, hobbies or able to add some of their culture to my curious nature, I for sure will put up an request.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Learning about other cultures most importantly. Listening to their stories, trips, places they have been to and still are heading to. Learning new things from fellow travelers for example, one time I was shown how to make a beer can stove...still use it at present. I have learned lots from hosting fellow couchsurfers and am sure they have learned more from my part of the world and ocean as well.
I absolutely enjoy my travels, and am also very keen on travels with others, as some trips are great to have some like minded travel companions along.
I have traveled foreign and domestic and during one of these trips, I ended up not planned at all in a big city. I had nowhere to go, did not know anybody there (obviously) and only after a few hours in the middle of the night managed to find a place to rest. After this experience, I made myself a promise, to always try and help fellow travelers when they are in my area, and to if possible help at the very least with food, transport emergency assistance and if the situation allows for it, accommodation as well.

Interests

Travel, outdoor life, ocean life, maritime and meeting like-minded people. I am quite curious about everyday life of people, even though I do at times visit popular sights, I do try to learn as much possible about day to day lives of the people wherever I travel. As for this reason, I try to meet as broad a spectrum of people as possible. If I have the chance to go on a camping trip, I very seldom will say no.

• animals
• writing
• environment
• cooking
• walking
• boating
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• hitchhiking
• mountains
• desert
• oceans
• maritime

Music, Movies, and Books

Not that much chance for movies and reading. You might sneak up on me while reading a travel magazine once in a while. During trip planning, maybe a Lonely Planet as well. And yes, even I sometimes have to consult the workshop manual when I have to fix my motorcycle...I guess that is about the amount of reading I do.
Music taste is wide, I am able to enjoy nearly all music. During road trips with perfect strangers, I have at quite a few times broadened my taste of various as well as shared home brewed South African music

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hmm, how do you select just one memory?
Travels by motorcycle through my home country might be a good start, then again plenty have done that.
Spending long trips alone in the Namibian desert on a motorcycle taking in the awesome landscapes?
Climbing through the Cango caves 4 times already?
Finding a very remote village high up in the Cederberg mountains by 4x4, without even knowing this village existed?
Lets move further abroad, backpacking to a country that I have only heard about and then had to Google it to know where it was located...and then found this country to be absolutely amazing.
They say travel is to cross bridges...so it gave me an idea...find bridges during my travels and walk across it . And I found a historic one while on travel in the UK. Walking on the first bridge made from iron in a village called Ironbridge does seem to have a nice ring to it. Another one worth mentioning is Stonebridge in Skopje...and then there was the beautiful train bridge near Hobas in Namibia.
Walking and hitch-hiking through Namibia, wild camping underneath the million star hotel during my trip.
And just recently, I have had the opportunity to share while kayaking with a Couch Surfer, a hidden landscape at sea underneath an old concrete jetty. My Couch Surfer described it as feeling like you are kayaking inside an aquarium, I think that description was perfectly spot on.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm quite curious exploring new places, chances are good you might learn something new about your home town if you travel around with me.
I am well able to give information about my local area that I lived as well as quite a few additional areas in my home country.
I used to take couchsurfers out on kayak trips, but have recently sold my kayaks. At present I am building a small boat, and as soon as it is ready to venture to water, I am planning to use it at times to show visitors around as well.
Having been brought up near the sea and working at sea most of my life, I am sure that I can offer some interesting facts about maritime environments.
Should you be interested, I would love to teach you about some of the marine species found in our coastal waters...and even cook some of it for you to taste.
Quite often I find people passing my area, are on their way to Namibia, should they need any info, I am sure i will be of great assistance answering any questions they may have.
Lately I am into camping in the Cederberg mountains or even venturing into the Tankwa Karoo. Should that be an interest to you, and you don't mind a camping trip, you will be most welcome to join up as well. Quite a lot to see, experience and photograph at these places. A little bit of Google will supply lots of info about these places.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well I am house-trained...so that might be a good start.

I can share lots of stories regarding travels in the desert areas of South Africa and Namibia.
I can offer to teach some of my home language to hosts. Afrikaans is a language very similar to Flemish.
Should you be interested in marine life or maritime environment, I have lots to share.
If you live near the sea, river or lake and have a boat that needs a bit of fixing, I am sure I can be of help as I have been in the commercial fishing industry for most of my life. My cooking abilities might be less impressive, as most of my cooking is done outdoors with minimal ingredients to my disposal, still I can show you a good couple of on the road ideas for cooking with that minimal ingredients. One Couchsurfer, doing an overnight kayak trip with me, loved my peri-peri chicken liver dinner next to a river out in nature. However, my dish washing abilities greatly outshines my cooking.

Countries I’ve Visited

Macedonia, Namibia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa, United Kingdom